Various catheter-based delivery systems require sequential “push-pull” motions to deploy or position a medical device. For example, a commercially available occluder device, referred to as HELEX™ septal occluder (W. L. Gore & Associates, Flagstaff, Ariz.), requires a series of push-pull manipulations of the delivery system components to deliver and deploy the septal occlusion device. During the deployment sequence a user must hold or fix one catheter component while simultaneously manipulating a second catheter component. The current delivery system used to deploy the HELEX™ septal occluder has three catheter components, essentially co-axially arranged along its entire length and independently movable with respect to each other. At specific stages of the push-pull delivery sequence the hand-held coaxial catheter components can become separated by extended distances resulting in repeated and lengthy hand motions.
Such a septal occluder, suitable delivery systems, and methods for delivering the septal occluder are described in detail in commonly owned U.S. Pat. No. 6,080,182.